What Were the Money Trusts Before the Federal Reserve?

Miscellaneous General
1

We hear about people talking about money trusts controlling most of the money supply before the creation of the federal reserve. People say that’s why Americans started to want some government entity to take back control of the money from the big money trusts. Of course, we now know that the money trust owners are the people who met in secret to create the federal reserve.

Question, what were the money trusts? Did they control most of the money supply? If so, how?

2

I can only guess the big banks became money trusts because of the National Banking Act and even when the gold standard was restored many States pretty much subsidized fractional reserve banking (many States protected FRB by legislating their own deposit insurance corporation).